Ernie Boudine -- early thirties, still lives at home with mom -- has never had sex, hasn’t even been kissed. In his mind the only guys who get in on the action are the muscled-up bodybuilders he worships on his computer. But Ernie knows to attract such a god He’ll need to transform his current blob of soft muscles covered with an ample layer of fat into body beautiful.

Personal trainer Butch Noonan discovers his boyfriend has been cheating on him. Troy is the last straw. Butch decides he’s done dating bodybuilders with their self-centered and egotistical attitudes. Butch longs for a relationship with someone who believes in romance, togetherness, and fidelity.

Joining a gym, Ernie feels like a kid in a candy store. So many beautiful men working out, so much hard muscle to ogle. Ernie is disappointed when Butch is assigned as his personal trainer. Despite the man’s name, the other trainers have bigger and buffer bodies.

Soon, however, Ernie begins to appreciate Butch’s sexy, compact body and what’s more, the man genuinely seems to care for and about Ernie.

Much to both men’s surprise, a tentative relationship begins to blossom, but then into the gym strolls Butch’s former college roommate. Bill is a serious bodybuilder and Ernie is immediately captivated by the man’s huge muscles and confident swagger.

Can Butch stand idly by and watch Ernie make the same mistakes he has? Or will Ernie wise up in time and realize true relationships are about more than muscle?

EXCERPT:Note: may contain sexually explicit scenes of a homoerotic nature.

Ernie stood next to the bed in the dimly-lighted room. It wasn’t exactly shabby, but it wasn’t five star either. There was a bed, table and two chairs, and a counter on which stood a vintage model TV. Despite the fact it was supposed to be a non-smoking room, the stale odor of cigarettes hung in the air. He looked toward Butch, who had kicked off his shoes and was casually peeling his T-shirt off over his head.

Butch smiled at Ernie. “Something wrong?”

Something wrong! Hell no! Not with you at least. Ernie thought, letting his eyes run over the trainer’s buff body.

Butch was short, shorter than Ernie by a couple of inches. His physique was not that of a hard-core bodybuilder like that BigBiceps guy he’d chatted with online. But Butch had muscles, great muscles: well defined pecs and delts, biceps and triceps that were ripped. The barbed wire tat on one of his biceps set it off perfectly. Butch also had a definite lat spread which gave his back that classical V-shape. A patch of hair in the valley between the peaks of muscle on Butch’s chest narrowed and ran down his rippled abs in a line that disappeared into the waistband of his shorts.

No, there was nothing wrong with that at all. Ernie felt his cock tingle and plump.

As ideal as the situation was and as close to the fulfillment of many of his jack-off fantasies as it came, he began to feel an anxiety that was close to panic. The thought, He’s going to ask me to take my shirt off! raced through Ernie’s brain.

“Uh, yeah,” Ernie managed to squeak out. More like Mothra! he thought, remembering the cheap Japanese horror movie he’d seen on sci-fi where a giant moth took on Godzilla.

Butch chuckled, not in a derisive manner but one that connoted affirmation and support. “Yeah, me, too. I always feel them when I’m with someone for the first time.” He leaned in, put both arms around Ernie’s neck, and raised up on tiptoe. “There’s only one way to get rid of them.”

Ernie realized Butch was going to kiss him. He pulled away and blurted out, “I have a confession to make.”

Butch looked up into Ernie’s face, seemingly surprised but then said in a teasing manner, “Uh, you’re not going to tell me you’re actually a woman are you? Cuz that would be a real downer.”

Despite the anxiety Ernie was feeling, he had to smile. He appreciated Butch’s humor and gentle nature. “No, I’m not a woman, but ...” He took a deep breath. “The truth is, I’ve never been with anyone before.”

“No. Not even been kissed.” Ernie forced himself to look at Butch and shrugged his shoulders. “Pretty pathetic isn’t it?”

Butch replaced his arms around Ernie’s neck and said, “Not at all. I’d be proud to be the first if you’d like that.”

Ernie couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. However, he didn’t have time to think as the reality of the moment washed over him. Butch was going to kiss him. Ernie hesitantly raised his arms and placed them around Butch’s waist. He felt the man’s tongue caress his lips and he parted them, allowing Butch access. Ernie shuddered. He could feel Butch’s cock press against his. He surrendered to the moment and the feelings that assailed his mind and body as he touched another man’s naked flesh for the first time and tasted his first kiss.

Butch broke the contact and stepped back. “We’ll take it as slow and as easy as you feel comfortable,” he said, that same warm, inviting smile still playing on his lips and lighting up his eyes. He opened his arms in welcome. “I’m all yours.”

For a long moment, Ernie just stood, taking in the sight of the muscular man before him. Tentatively, he reached out and lightly caressed Butch’s broad shoulders. Then he slowly dropped his hands to trace the contours of the man’s shapely arms, squeezing the firm biceps, exploring the groove made by the well-developed triceps as Butch slowly flexed and relaxed the muscles. The sensations that surged through Ernie’s body and concentrated in his groin were indescribable as he experienced the feel of actual muscle on a real man. Ernie’s gaze shifted from Butch’s arms up to his face. Butch’s eyes were closed and he wore an expression that seemed to reflect the pleasure Ernie himself was experiencing. Ernie felt an unfamiliar emotion well up as he realized he was able to give pleasure to this Adonis despite all of his imperfections and flaws.